Knicks hold off Pistons for 2-1 series edge
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points and Jalen Brunson added 30, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to give the visiting New York Knicks a 118-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
OG Anunoby put up 22 points for the Knicks, who hold a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday in Detroit. The Pistons have not won a home playoff game since May 2008.
Brunson, who averaged 35.5 points in the first two games, also had nine assists and seven rebounds in Game 3.
Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. led Detroit with 24 points apiece, and Cunningham dished out a game-high 11 assists. Dennis Schroder scored 18 points.
Thunder rally past Grizzlies to take 3-0 series lead
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Jalen Williams had 26 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an improbable 114-108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday to take a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.
Chet Holmgren scored 23 of his 24 points in the second half as the Thunder overcame a 29-point deficit in the first half and didn’t lead in the game until Williams dropped in a free throw with 1:20 remaining to go ahead 109-108.
Holmgren added two free throws with 57.4 seconds left and Alex Caruso scored on a breakaway layup with 19.4 seconds to go. The Grizzlies did not score in the final 4:51.
Kawhi Leonard leads Clippers’ rout of Nuggets for series lead
Kawhi Leonard recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and the Los Angeles Clippers took a 2-1 series lead with a convincing 117-83 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at Inglewood, Calif.
James Harden had 20 points — all in the first half — to go with nine assists and six rebounds, while Norman Powell also scored 20 for the fifth-seeded Clippers. Ivica Zubac registered 19 points and nine rebounds as Los Angeles won its second straight in the best-of-seven, first-round series.
